Jamame (Somalia Today) — A coordinated offensive by United States and Somali forces in the insurgent-held southern Somalia has claimed the lives of at least 11 civilians, including seven children, according to a new report citing witnesses and survivors.
Forces launched the operation in mid-November to recapture the strategic agricultural district of Jamame. The push reportedly deployed a lethal combination of U.S. airstrikes and heavy artillery from American-trained Danab commandos and Jubbaland regional forces.
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed it conducted strikes in the vicinity on November 14–15 to support Somali partners. However, the emerging allegations cast doubt on the campaign’s precision in a theater where political rivalries have fractured ground coordination.
‘Shelling like rain’
The assault began on November 15 in Jamame, a riverine hub in the Lower Jubba region that has served as an Al-Shabaab bastion for over a decade. Witnesses told investigative outlet Drop Site News that the bombardment followed hours of surveillance aircraft circling overhead.
What ensued was a chaotic fusion of air and ground power. Survivors described mortar shells raining down from the west bank of the Jubba River, where government troops held positions, coinciding with “bombs from the sky.”
“The shelling was like rain,” said Mohammed Hassan Abdulle, a resident whose family suffered devastating losses.
Shrapnel instantly killed Abdulle’s seven-month-old daughter, Nurto Mohamed Hassan, striking her head and thigh while she was strapped to her mother’s back.
The aftermath was frantic. Abdulle attempted to rush his wife, Farhiya Hassan Omar, to a clinic, but the intensity of the shelling forced them to flee.
They flagged down a small Suzuki for a desperate 40-mile trek north to Jilib, the insurgency’s de facto capital. Abdulle was donating blood for his wife at the Jilib hospital when doctors informed him she had succumbed to her injuries.
Narratives diverge
Accounts from the ground and official channels stand in stark contrast. AFRICOM confirmed its forces struck targets approximately 55 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of Kismayo.
The command stated the operation ran “in coordination” with the Federal Government of Somalia. AFRICOM asserted the strikes targeted Al-Shabaab militants but withheld details on specific ground units or battle damage assessments.
Somalia’s state media presented different optics. In a dispatch published on November 16, the Somali National News Agency (SONNA) reported that the Somali National Army’s 43rd Division and the elite Danab unit executed operations in the Jamame district.
The report claimed forces destroyed “militant hideouts” and degraded Al-Shabaab’s capabilities, but it made no mention of civilian casualties.
Community leaders who compiled casualty lists from the site tell a different story. They reported that, in addition to the Hassan family tragedy, a separate strike killed a mother and her four siblings, aged four to ten.
“It was a very shocking day,” Maria Abdi Haji Guled, a mother of eight, told reporters. “So many people died. Children were running around. Everything was a mess.”
The ‘Danab’ factor
Central to the operation was the Danab (“Lightning”) brigade, an elite unit trained, equipped, and funded by the United States.
Western diplomats often cite Danab as the standard-bearer for professionalism in the Somali security sector. Yet, the unit’s involvement in an operation with alleged high civilian casualties complicates this reputation.
The severe political crisis between the Jubbaland administration and the Federal Government in Mogadishu further tangles the offensive.
Jubbaland, led by President Ahmed Madobe, recently suspended cooperation with the federal government following a bitter dispute over electoral laws.
Analysts warn that such fragmentation creates a perilous environment for civilians.
“Due to ongoing political fragmentation in Somalia, regional governments are trying to demonstrate they are a good counterterrorism partner to the U.S. in order to receive direct support,” said Omar Mahmood, senior analyst for Somalia at the International Crisis Group.
He noted that simultaneous operations by disparate forces are “not always coordinated,” which heightens the risk of operational errors.
Surge in air power
The violence in Jamame coincides with a sharp escalation in the U.S. air campaign. Data cited by Fox News and Stars and Stripes indicates AFRICOM conducted 101 airstrikes in Somalia by late November 2025.
This marks one of its most aggressive tempos in years. The data suggests a two-front war: 59 strikes targeted ISIS-Somalia in the north, while the remainder hammered Al-Shabaab in the south.
This volume of strikes—now outpacing U.S. anti-narcotics operations in the Caribbean—has left residents on edge.
While AFRICOM maintains a process for reviewing civilian harm, investigations often lag. The command frequently closes cases if it determines no U.S. assets were in the specific vicinity at the exact time reported.
Financial ruin compounds the physical trauma for the wounded in Jamame.
Maria Abdi Haji Guled, whose seven-year-old son suffered shrapnel wounds, is now stranded in Mogadishu. Doctors have told her that removing the metal fragments from her son’s body will cost $1,000—a sum vastly beyond her means.
Back in the Lower Jubba, the fear persists. Residents describe the sound of drones as a constant reminder of the threat from above.
“All the time it is in the sky,” Abdulle said, weeks after burying his wife and infant daughter. “We are dying for nothing.”
